Legion advances to finals with 14-5 win over Bradford

Photo by Jim Mulcahy
This file photo show St. Marys Legion second baseman Ricky Pearsall taking a throw from catcher Luke Daghir during a game recent game against the Bradford Legion.

By

Jim Mulcahy

The St. Marys Legion baseball team advanced to the championship series of the Elk County Legion Baseball League by defeating the Bradford Legion two games to none.
St. Marys won the series last night as they defeated Bradford by a 14-5 score in a game played at the Mt. Jewett field.
St. Marys will now meet Wilcox in the championship series. Wilcox eliminated Fox Township last night by an 11-1 score. The first game of the championship series is scheduled for Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. at Berwind Park. The second game of the best-of-three series will be played Monday at Wilcox starting at 5:30 p.m. Then, if necessary, a game will be played Wednesday beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Berwind Park.
In last night’s game at Mt. Jewett, St. Marys pounded out 15 hits. Jordan Weinzierl had a triple and two doubles, while Luke Daghir had a double and two singles. Ricky Pearsall had three singles. Luke Nicklas had a home run and a single, while Ben Daghir had a double and a single. Ryan Uhl and Jake Cortina both doubled.
Ryan Uhl started on the mound for St. Marys, working 4 1/3 innings. Jordan Weinzierl finished up, going 2 2/3 innings.
“The bats came alive tonight,” said St. Marys manager Fran Pasi. “Luke Nicklas’ two-run homer in the second inning gave us a big lift.”
“It was nice to be able to get every body into the game,” added Pasi.
With one out in the top of the first inning, Ben Daghir singled and stole second. With two outs, Uhl walked and Weinzierl doubled, scoring Daghir as St. Marys led 1-0. Bradford tied the game in the home half of the inning on two hits and two walks.
The top of the second inning saw Luke Daghir lead off with a single. With one out, Nicklas homered, scoring Daghir. Pearsall singled and stole second and third. He scored on an infield out. Kevin Hoy walked and Uhl doubled. Pinch runner Josh Feldbauer and Uhl scored on a triple by Weinzierl, giving St. Marys the 6-1 lead. Bradford left a runner on base in their half of the inning.
St. Marys left two men stranded in the third, while Bradford went down in order. St. Marys went in order in the fourth. Bradford left two men on base in the bottom of the inning.
Cortina led off the fifth with a double. Luke Daghir followed with a single. Cortina scored on an infield out. With two outs, Pearsall singled, scoring Daghir. Ben Daghir and Hoy were walked. Uhl was hit by a pitch, scoring Pearsall. Weinzierl was hit by a pitch, scoring Ben Daghir as St. Marys took a 10-1 lead. Bradford came up with two runs in the home half of the fifth to make the score 10-3.
St. Marys went down in order in the top half of the sixth. In the home half of the inning, Bradford scored two runs on two hits and a hit batsman, cutting the St. Marys lead to 10-5.
In the top of the seventh, Pearsall led off with a walk. He stole second and scored on a triple by Ben Daghir. Daghir was thrown out attempting to score. Hoy walked and Uhl was hit by a pitch. Weinzierl doubled, scoring both Hoy and Uhl. With two outs, Luke Daghir doubled, scoring Weinzierl to give St. Marys the 14-5 lead. Bradford left the bases loaded in the home half of the seventh as St. Marys improved their record to 16-1 on the year.